What is Digg?31 Comments
- ThirdPrize, on 10/12/2007, -1/+29If you turn the word iPod! upside down it reads the same. How cool is that? :)
- moet, on 10/12/2007, -0/+18Its just a crossover, any one with a bit of electronics knowledge can create that (and is usually built into most commercial systems) for less than $10.
Besides it means nothing if your music has crappy compression - xsxs, on 10/12/2007, -0/+10I'll take How to program your VCR for 500, Alex.
- Slovenian6474, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9It may be just me, but i'm confused how a crossover = loudest Ipod. I expected a hack to raise the output on the headphone plug. This guy seems to just be connecting it to a stereo with a crossover to seperate the low end. If you go by those terms, wouldn't an ipod hooked up to a concert system probably qualify for loudest ipod title?
- synned, on 10/12/2007, -0/+9Woah *blinks*
- ahhell, on 10/12/2007, -1/+7Does it come with spinnaz?
- GernBlanston, on 10/12/2007, -0/+5Does it go to 11?
For that extra push over the cliff... - inkyblue2, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4seriously. selling this thing for $100 is insane. the schematic is good as a quick reference for low pass, high pass, and summation op amp circuits, though:
http://www.makezine.com/images/08/iBump_schematic.pdf
the ibump might be fun to build if you enjoy ordering parts samples and wiring breadboards, but otherwise that $100 would be better spent picking up a receiver on ebay. - aquax, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4I don't understand why this is really anything special. Most decent amps have built in crossovers, even with adjustable cutoff points, so you can tune it for your speakers.
Maybe it's just my lack of audio knowledge, but how is this any different than the crossover built in to my amp? - chatwithaninja, on 10/12/2007, -4/+8So "open-source" is the new buzzword. Yay.
Online instructions for making a tree-house: open-source
Online how-to for baking cookies: open-source
How to program your VCR: open-source - inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3How many decibels?
- wiener, on 10/12/2007, -0/+3Unfortunately your amp isn't compatible as it is missing the magic "i" before its name.
- johnham, on 10/12/2007, -1/+3This machine is made of glory.
- epiccentury, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2It really doesnt amount to anything. Yes, youll be able to turn the volume up louder but eventually you will run out of either a.) speaker abillity or b.) available power. The guy will still make tons of money though because there are people out there that are just that idiotic.
- theRIAA, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2yea... my speakers do this, this guy just made a really complicated one himself
- mscman, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1It's not.
- tomaco, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yes, hearing loss is a real problem. I encourage everyone to take care of their ears! Mine are not in too good shape, so I do plan on designing myself a hearing aid at some point. From what I have seen so far, existing designs can be greatly improved if you are willing to use a less unobtrusive microphone. I hope I can get used to wearing a baseball hat with a pair of shotgun mikes mounted on the bill!
These days I use ear protection when listening to loud music, and I give out fresh ear plugs to those around me. I buy big jars of them! - Slovenian6474, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1A crossover is necessary, but most stereos already have it. Plus the crossover itself does not increase volume. He's implying crossover=loudest ipod. A better article would be more to the effect good receiver + nice speakers = loud ipod, but everyone already knows that.
- tomaco, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1For the system in the picture, the volume is limited by the house. Things start falling off of shelves, and we worry about loosening the nails in the house! If you have an enclosed steel structure (or a car) you could build something quite a bit louder.
The "World's Loudest" claim is meant to be silly, of course, but the unit helps you build a really loud system that sounds great - especially if you have a bass amp or guitar amp handy. - patience, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Buy stock in hearing aid manufacturers.
In 15 years, Apple will be selling iHear: Ipods that also double as hearing aids.
Ha. Watch those ears, fanboys. - Twango, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Xareful! Hearing loss is a real thing!
- tomaco, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yes, this crossover is probably different from the one in your amp. It uses an LR-2 100Hz crossover, which sounds much more natural than the more common LR-4 crossover. It also uses the TI OPA2134 opamp, with .00008% distortion and 8nV/RHz noise, so you shouldn't notice any new audio problems.
If you have an amp that already has a subwoofer output, you can get along without an iBump. There are still several scenarios where it could be useful, though.
Just as important as the low pass filter for your subwoofer output is the high pass filter for your other speakers. You don't want to send the bass to them, because the bass tends to cause distortion at much lower volumes that the highs. Without the bass notes pushing your speakers all over the place, you can get much louder midrange out of your existing speakers. - tomaco, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Yup, the schematic is missing the supply pins. I'll fix that! Thanks! Of course the supply pins are automatically hooked up in the software that I used to design the board...
- ThirdPrize, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Pardon?
- abohling, on 10/12/2007, -2/+2I want to do this just to annoy my neighbor. What fun!
- tomaco, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Yes, that's a Sunn bass head and a JBL 18" subwoofer - the type usually used with a PA for adding a mike to the bass drum. The amp is 400W, if I remember correctly. You really need a sub that powerful to keep up with a pair of Klipsch Heresy speakers when you play Dark Side of the Moon, especially when the Heresy's only have to work at frequencies higher than 100Hz!
It amazes me how much better I like this crossover design than the one built into the receiver. I suspect this is because the rolloff in the receiver crossover is too fast. In the receiver, the transition between the bass and the midrange sounds like it has a gap.
I have listened to various 'home theater' systems and some good stereos, but I hadn't heard a home system with the true volume and vibration that I heard at a real rock concert until Wendell and I built this system. And, I get the benefit of a clean studio recording so that I can clearly hear every word and feel every bass note. - hattrick35, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Yay hearing loss!
- dayquil, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1You nay-sayers don't know what you're talking about. A crossover can have a significant impact on available volume because it lets your components do what they were designed to do and frees them from attempting to do what they weren't. If you don't have separate high and low end components, however, well then don't you worry your pretty little head about it.
The utility of such a device is still questionable however, because most music inputs on stereo systems expect just L and R and split out the sub signal internally. Note that in the photograph this guy is running his low end into a Sunn bass head and a big burly JBL 1x15 bass cabinet. That's the kind of setup you would need for this to make sense.
So maybe it's a little bit silly, but it does what he says it will do, and that's boost efficiency. - blackbookdesign, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Lets promote tomorrow new "i" product or "z" product:
For your convenience buy this product: the new iEaringAid!
For those poor used ears of yours... - emfb, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0inkyblue2
The schematic is incomplete. It's missing the power and ground pins for the opamp. If you are decent with electronics you can easily figure that out. If you're smart enough to figure that out then you probably already can recognize the high pass and summation op amp circuits, the regulators, charge pump, etc...
The problem is that if a noob built this circuit with the supplied schematic as it is, IT WONT WORK. - Topher06, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I hope 20 years from now hearing aids are not covered by universal health plans or health insurance and cost $50,000 for each ear. I have no sympathy for someone that cranks up the volume in their car or headphones or stereo.
Come to think of it, I am going to invest in stocks for earing aid companies now.
The Digg Toolbar for Firefox lets you Digg, submit content, and keep track of Digg even when you're not on the Digg site. Download the official 
© Digg Inc. 2009
— Content created and posted by Digg users is